Portland Relationship Counseling: Why Wait? Go on a Midweek Date

If you and your partner usually save your date night for the weekend—or if you haven’t had a date night in months—consider changing your routine and going on a midweek date. Going out in the middle of the week when you normally don’t creates a sense of novelty, much like the novelty you experience when you first start dating someone. It’s also a great way for you and your partner to find out about some local midweek events, such as classes or a concert series, which you might not have discovered otherwise.

5 Ideas for Your Midweek Date

Take a dance class together. By taking a dance class one night a week (or even just sampling a dance class for one week), you’ll be learning a new skill with your partner, getting exercise, and getting the opportunity to be physically close—all of which builds excitement and brings back some of those “butterflies” you experienced when you first started dating.

Go to a restaurant with great weekday specials. Most restaurants offer certain specials on drinks and dinner during the week, so go online and look up a few places near you. Find one that you’ve never been to with a menu that both you and your partner want to try.

Have an at-home dinner and movie night. Sometimes it can be tough to find time to go out during the week, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the idea of a midweek date with your partner. Make a nice dinner together and catch up on each other’s days, then put in a movie that you can watch without interruption, even if that means you have to wait until you put the kids to bed.

Go to a university talk or other public campus event. If you live in Portland, there are a number of colleges, such as University of Portland, Reed College, and Lewis & Clark College, that sometimes open up guest lectures and other university events to the general public. Check the events page on the website of a college near you to find an upcoming talk, guest lecture, reading, concert, or play.

Try something that gets you out of your comfort zone. Challenge yourself and your partner to do something new, whether that means rock climbing, karaoke, or a wine and painting class. The worst case scenario is that neither of you are very good at it, but then you can laugh over your shared experience later. And who knows, you may just discover a new activity to return to on future date night.

Still looking for good date ideas for any given day? Check your local online events calendar to find special nearby weeknight events, like plays, concerts, and talks. If you live in Portland, try this calendar from Portland Monthly magazine. You can also come into Portland relationship counseling to learn more about how to keep the romance alive by dating your partner.